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“What is it about this tea that is so addictive? I had to bump my rating up a few points, as I have turned to this buttery green tea once again, this time brewing it exactly as Den’s...”
Read full tasting note

“Thanks to whoever recommended this bancha from Den’s tea, I forget who you were… :)
I think they do recommend boiling water for this one, but nevertheless I believe I steeped mine in...”
Read full tasting note

From Den's Tea

Bancha is produced from a bottom part of tea leaves that are big and thick. Compared to Sencha, Bancha is somewhat more astringent. Nevertheless, it is appreciated in Japan for its robust flavor. Den’s Bancha Suruga is an upgraded variation, using fresh green leaves picked right after the first flush tea.

16 Tasting Notes

What is it about this tea that is so addictive? I had to bump my rating up a few points, as I have turned to this buttery green tea once again, this time brewing it exactly as Den’s recommends. 1st steep, 1 minute with boiling water (!!!), 2nd steep for 15 seconds with boiling water.

This is the only loose leaf green that actually tastes better when made with boiling water. Most are best at 180 F or below, but this tea is just so much more forgiving. As other have recommended, I have cold brewed this bancha, ice brewed it on one occasion and never had a bad cup of tea. Not terribly complex, but refreshing, bright and nice vegetal flavor. Thanks Den’s Tea for offering such great Japanese teas!

The dry leaf looks like tiny grass clippings. Faint grassy aroma. Steeped 1 ½ tsp for 1 ½ minutes at about 180d. The liquor is clear with a faint green tint. The leaf unfolded to reveal shredded pieces. The wet leaf smells like stew beef, it’s making me hungry. Poured into the cup this takes on a faint grassy aroma.

The sip is vegetal – like broccoli and spinach maybe, becoming grassier as it cools, but never a heavy grassiness. There is the tiniest bit of bitterness. The aftertaste has some fruitiness in it. Cups 2 and 3 were equally tasty.

If green is your thing, this is an easy one to love. Interesting, complex, and you don’t have to work at enjoying it. A wonderful tea. Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sharing this one. It is a winner.

Preparation

Thanks to whoever recommended this bancha from Den’s tea, I forget who you were… :)

I think they do recommend boiling water for this one, but nevertheless I believe I steeped mine in around 190F for 60-90 seconds. This is very vegetal and marine, I am also picking up a bit on the buttery quality others have mentioned. It’s pretty rich in flavor although more savory, not much on the sweet side. I was worried after reading the description that said it was more astringent than sencha, I am not really picking up on that much in the first steep.

My second steep was around 208 F and here I am picking up more on some astringency so although still delicious, I think I prefer it at the lower temp.

It is raining today in San Francisco and this robust green tea seems very comforting. It’s also nice to have at least one green tea you don’t have to worry about steeping with a thermometer, which will make this a nice one to have in the office.

I’m starting to wonder why I even bother buying flavored green tea because I actually like the taste of green tea and more often than not the flavoring kind of ruins them in my opinion… I think this is a good value especially for the price.

Preparation

Any Bancha I’ve had (only a few) has never been more astringent than sencha tea. I like them sometimes for there lack of astringency, and even on a resteep, are not as astringent as senchas. I’ve only resteeped bancha teas twice, and I do like an occasional flavored green. Most of the teas I consume (95%) are unflavored. How much was this Bancha?

I really don’t like too many flavored teas, but I like Harney’s Bangkok Blend – Bancha with vanilla & lemongrass. Their Tokyo Blend is even better IMHO, becuse the bancha is blended with caramel & toasted sesame seeds.

This is an excellent Bancha, one of the best that I’ve tried (I should mention that I’ve not tried a lot of Bancha, but I’ve had a few). It has a very robust flavor … strongly vegetative, with hints of butter and I am getting a strong savory quality to this too … it kind of reminds me of miso broth with a teensy bit of seaweed in it. But, I like this MUCH better than I like seaweed (which I don’t really like at all, to be honest). But it has that same salty, savory, briny kind of taste to it.

Am I the only one who thinks this tastes like melted butter? It is very delicious. Crafty Den’s put it in as a “sample tea of month” with my first order and now they are forcing me to buy a full order because this stuff is the Shi-shi! Has the faint taste of a good sencha, but mellowed down with absolutely no bitterness.

Preparation

Tell me what you think, Stephanie. I was just sad that it was a single serving sample, but I ordered 4 ounces yesterday along with 12 ounces of the Genmaicha Extra Green which I have been drinking in large quantities.

Oh man, I love this tea. Got it as a sample with my last order, but I think I’ll have to buy some more next time I’m near Den’s. The leaves smell something like green beans, especially when they’re wet, and the tea itself tastes of mild vegetables, but bitter and buttery at the same time. I could easily drink this tea every day.

You lucky dog! I have to settle for ordering a bunch when there’s a 15% off sale like this October — I feel so guilty for the $75 order I just got today that I hid it in the basement so Sue (my wife) won’t realize I ordered more Dens. :)

This was one of the sales last month and I needed more matcha so I decided to place another Den’s order. My 1st Bancha! Steeped as suggested, except I lowered the temp just a bit so I didn’t kill the health benefits.

Does anyone else think astringency has an aroma? The raw leaves smell quite a bit like Kukicha so I’m wondering if that’s from the astringency.

The liquor is a pretty yellow color and the aroma is that of the raw leaf, but quite a bit lighter. I can definitely see the similarities between this and Kukicha although this is quite a bit lighter and sweeter. Given the choice between this and Kukicha, I think I’d go w/ this.

This is a good tea, even better iced actually.
Its easy to brew, turns out well at 170, 180, and boiling… probably other temperatures, too. It isn’t bitter (at least in my experience), but has a nice fresh, grassy, semi-sweet flavor, that’s a little astringent.

(This is definitely worth the price, though, if I was looking for a tea from Den’s at this price range, I’d probably go for Green Kukicha instead, as that is even better!).

Preparation

I used my Ingenuitea teapot by Adagio Teas for brewing. I had a sample of the loose leaf format of this particular tea. It tastes like any other Japanese green tea with all of the familiar tasting notes.

Aroma: Vegetal, grassy, spinach and bright.

Taste: Vegetal and spinach. It taste of soaked grapeleaves; very vegetal and spinach. There was a sweetness and an astringency to this tea. The astringency came only because of the steeping time, since I like strong tea, I steeped it for five minutes rather than for three; if steeped for three, then this tea would be sweet, bright (not too astringent) grassy and vegetal with a clean, bright finish.

I would recommend this tea. It is a cleaner, brighter, palate cleansing tea for after a meal. This is a very nice everyday green tea. It is more vegetal than grassy. Bancha is a little more vibrant than it’s older siblings, Gyokuro or Sencha. I really enjoy this tea. To me, it has all the combined characteristics of Sencha (brightness and a little astringent), Kukicha (sweetness), and Dragonwell (cleansing).